Tokyo, May 2026

Three days in Tokyo with no agenda except walking. Shimokitazawa for the vintage shops and basement jazz bars. Yanaka for the cemetery walks and old shitamachi feel that Harajuku lost a decade ago.

Shimokitazawa

Small streets, no chain stores, a cat in every second window. The coffee at Bear Pond was worth the queue.

Yanaka

The shotengai is genuinely unchanged since the 70s. Best taiyaki I’ve had — the queue moves fast, eat it immediately.